Monthly Archive for September, 2012

: September, 2012

With a little more than a month to go until the Nov. 6 elections, legislators, budget professionals, education and business leaders will share their perspectives on the 2013 Texas legislature at an Oct. 3 conference at the Baker Institute.

The public is invited to attend “Perspectives on the Texas Legislature: 2013 Session,” but an RSVP is required.

Unfortunately, there is a fundamental disconnect between what research tells us about marijuana, on the one hand, and relaxed public attitudes toward the drug, on the other. Add to this the relentless campaign to legislate raw marijuana as medicine, or to legalize the drug outright, and we get parents and lawmakers who are confused and conflicted. All of this confusion has muddied the policy waters so thoroughly that urban legends rule the day when it comes to marijuana. It’s time to get honest, heed the science and realize that the answer to the question “What is the most effective marijuana policy?” may not be as easy as one might think.
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What is the purpose for the push to legalize marijuana? Is it because there are those waiting in the wings who wish to legitimize their illicit endeavors and ill-gotten gains? Is it because there are designs on the funding used to combat illicit drug demand by those who want to find funds for their own programs? Is it because habitual users want to come out of the closet? Is it because it is viewed as a “silver bullet” against cartel violence? Perhaps all these factors and more come into play. …

The question of whether marijuana should be legalized is both easy and difficult to answer. It is easy to say yes, at one level, for several reasons. First, by the three most important measures of drug control success, we can say that marijuana control policies have failed: Marijuana is still widely available. It is cheaper than ever before. And thanks to genetic engineering technology, it is much more potent than in the past. …

Part of the fiction that keeps cannabis legalization from gaining traction is the idea that legalization would lead to marijuana being sold indiscriminately, unscrupulously, and in some putative scenarios, with the full backing of corporate advertising. If the powers that be were to loosen prohibition, or even to debate the merits of alternative approaches to marijuana policy, chaos would undoubtedly ensue. This fiction, however, ignores the fact that prohibition already creates chaos; drug cartels use murder, terror and graft to compete for market share, illicit marijuana growers show no regard for the environment as they focus on their bottom lines, and teenagers purchase marijuana and other illicit drugs from dealers who never check ID. In reality, legalization would not lead toward chaos, it would lead toward sensible regulation and taxation measures that could manage the harmful consequences of marijuana use, while eliminating the problems caused by marijuana prohibition. A practical approach to legalization would use regulation and taxation to balance the needs of communities, local governments and cannabis consumers alike. Luckily, such regulatory schemes already exist, and they can provide models for future policymakers. …

I am neither a proponent nor an opponent of the legalization of marijuana. I am, however, a pragmatist who believes that the nationwide legalization of the personal use of marijuana is inevitable. While it has inherent risks associated with prolonged use, the American public is consistently leaning toward the legalization of personal use of marijuana, much as the public’s continued use of alcohol resulted in the repeal of Prohibition. As another case in point, people continue to smoke tobacco at great personal risk to their health.
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Trying to reach a firm and well-founded conclusion on whether or not marijuana should be legalized is incredibly difficult for some people. For many drug reform advocates, the issue is very emotionally charged. Smoking marijuana is part of a lifestyle, or a simple way to relax. Moreover, the U.S. government shouldn’t be telling people what they can and can’t put into their bodies, many believe. It’s also emotional for drug prohibitionists who cling to conservative morals and American values of wholesomeness, following the letter of the law, and a lack of need to rely on mind-altering substances for pleasure or relief. They can’t imagine their children throwing back shots of tequila or smoking cigarettes, let alone taking hits from a bong. …

More than 100 million people in this country have tried marijuana at some point. More than 28 million will do so this year. It will not make them dangerous or more interesting. It should not make them criminals. …

The history of major arrests of Mexican drug “cartel” leaders during the administration of President Felipe Calderón (2006-December 2012) indicates that despite important apprehensions, many Mexican organized crime groups prove resilient. Thus, the arrests this week by Mexico’s Marines of two long-time high-level leaders of the Gulf cartel are not likely to decimate the organization. …

The foreign policy implications of the growing and unsustainable U.S. debt are tremendous, Baker said. “Such a state of affairs could impair the state of the U.S. dollar and its role in global currency,” he said. “It will constrain the ability of our government to pursue an independent monetary and fiscal policy. More generally, our debt crisis runs the risk of undermining our leadership abroad … our strength abroad depends on our economic health at home.” …

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